I really wish eGPU review articles would come up with some kind of way of giving some noise levels for some typical setups. While I care about performance and cost, noise is actually one of my top priorities (which, as you'll see, is why I bought a Blackmagic).
Incompatible with thunderbolt 3 display is a problem. Using all these eGPU except BlackMagic prevent you from using the LG UltraFine 5K.
I'm not sure most people here care about the LG UltraFine 5K though, do they? IMO, the Blackmagic has a lot more going for it than that. I don't have a LG 5K, but bought the Blackmagic.
It’s interesting you assume it’s Apple’s fault.
I don't think we have to assume.
These eGPU’s are confusing to me. Sure having a laptop that you can game on would be cool, and sure a laptop that you can do more heavy editing on would be cool as well. But at what point should we just get a desktop? eGPU IS $400 (if I understand correctly that is not including the actual GPU...) another $300-400 for a great GPU a decent screen that is another $500. That almost $1,500. Seems crazy to me. Maybe I’m missing something?
Different workflows and use-cases for different people. If you primarily use a laptop because you're out and about a lot, then it is great to just sit at your desk and plug-in to a bunch more power, screens, etc. Or, in my case, I don't want to build a desktop and Apple didn't have any good desktops that fit my need, so adding one to a Mac mini created the nearly perfect system for me.
And the only time you get a bottleneck is if you use a laptop with it without an external monitor. Then you'd take about a 30% performance hit. If you use an external monitor the performance hit is minor, if any at all.
... I prefer to use my Mac. It's not just about gaming but also media creation. My girls can take their MacBook air's and just plug it in and use an ultra wide screen monitor and game on it too. Or work on video edits. Everyone in the house can make use of it. It's really rather convenient.
I'd add also to be careful about the ports these eGPUs. If you're using them as a 'dock' you can easily hit performance bottlenecks. Yes, if you only use the GPU aspect, it's about a 10% hit or less (ie: more like 'up to 10% performance hit' 10% if you're doing something that actually maxes out GPU communication).
Good point about usefulness though. My son has a 13" MBP, and my wife a MBA. If either of them needed some extra GPU performance (and could get it away from me) they could use it by just plugging in. And, if I ever need more GPU-power, I can get a new eGPU and pass my current one down to my son, etc.
Nvidia has no working relationship with Apple after burning all their bridges releasing one POS after another card that caused all sorts of issues.
Yeah, and I personally got 'burned' by the whole nVidia thing with two MBPs I owned (one, Apple fixed for a while, but it eventually prematurely became useless to me), yet I'm enough of an adult that I'm past that.... and I'm sure it was harder financially on me than Apple.
While they play their little infantile spats, they are hurting a bunch of their users in substantial ways.
Also with Windows computers you can have it all, gaming and productivity.
And, well, Windows.
I run my setup with Boot Camp, so I'm well aware of how both sides of the fence work (including decades of work in IT, much of it with Windows).
I cringe every time I need to do much work in Windows. Sure, once you're in a game, I suppose there isn't a ton of difference (unless you're trying to hook a controller up or something like that), but they aren't even close in terms of productivity overall (unless you're just talking raw hardware performance possibilities).
To many of us, the OS matters a lot too!
Actually looking at the numbers again this razer enclosure with a 580 is still $100 cheaper than the equivalent black magic. And you can upgrade your card while you can't on the blackmagic which is a dealbreaker. Of course you can get the cheaper razer core X enclosure and save $200.
Some of the early enclosures had issues. Now it's fine. Have you read the crappy blackmagic reviews on apples site?
Only $100 more? Worth every penny (and more) to me! The thing about the Blackmagic is the design, being quiet, compatibility, etc. (It's a bit like the Mac/Windows debate, actually.)
Yes, upgradability is a problem, but depending on your situation (see above), you can easily hand them down, so they don't become instantly useless.
re: reviews - I've read all kinds of reviews and articles (with comment sections), and most of them are clueless people just complaining about overpriced, no upgradability, etc. Are there some real concerns I should be aware of? I love mine... guess I should go leave a review.
Does Windows support external GPU's ?
Yes, but it can be tricky getting it going. That said, it seems to be improving all the time. Just weeks before I got mine going, it involved all kinds of really tricky hacks. I was able to get mine going (was going to write an article on how) without any hacks (just some tricky 'right order' type stuff). Now, from what I've read, it's relatively straight forward (haven't tried again yet), just knowing when to switch cables, etc.
I'm assuming/hoping it will eventually be almost plug-n-play with a core set of eGPUs.
(Note: I'm talking about Boot Camp and eGPUs here... they are plug and play in MacOS. Also, I 'haven't tried again' because I'm mid-project for a few months. After that, I'll probably start from scratch again just to see how the situation has improved.)
Though if the desktop class GPU is being heavily used I wonder just how large an effect that has on battery life. The other benefits I wrote of an eGPU are still valid (adding power, upgrading GPU, etc).
